Ground engaging support



May 29, 1951 J. R. TRICARICO GROUND ENGAGING SUPPORT Filed June 10, 1947 INVENTOR. Joseph E. Tr/carvco A rzorn eys Patented May 29, I951 GROUND ENGAGING SUPPORT Joseph R. Tricarico, New York, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, of forty-nine per cent to Mary Campano, New York, N. Y.

Application June 10, 1947, Serial No. 753,660

1 Claim. 1

' This invention relates to improvements in ground-engaging supports, and more particularly to an improved support adapted to be set into the ground on a lawn, beach or similar area to support such objects as umbrellas, posts for lines, nets, tents, hammocks, etc., fiagpoles, portable grilles and other objects used on such areas as lawns, beaches and picnic grounds, and to an improved guy-line anchor for use in combination with the improved support to firmly hold a post, umbrella rack, flagpole, etc., in upright position,

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved portable ground-engaging support which may be quickly and easily set into the ground of a lawn, beach or similar area, and will provide a firmly-positioned socket for supporting the lower end of a post, umbrella rack, grille or table-leg, etc, and a portable guy-line anchor usable in combination with the improved support, when desired, to rigidly guy a supported post in upright position, such support and anchor being of light Weight and easy to carry, easy to set in operative position in the ground and especially adapted for the quick and easy attachment of a post, rod, pole, or guy-wire thereto, and which is simple in construction and economical to man ufacture.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a diagrammatic illustration of the manner in which the improved ground-engaging supports and guy-line anchors are used.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a ground-engaging support illustrative of the invention.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal crosssection showing an alternative arrangement for securing a rod or pole to the improved support.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a modified form of ground-engaging support illustrative of the invention.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of a still further modified form of ground-engaging support; and

Figure 6 is a longitudinal elevation of a guyline anchor illustrative of the invention.

With continued reference to the drawing, and particularly to Figure 1, one ground-engaging support, generally indicated at I0, is shown in operative position to support a post H to which may be operatively connected a line or net 12. The post will support a clothesline or boundary line, a tennis or other game net, a hammock, and a number of other articles which may be suspended from upright posts.

A guy-line i3 is connected at its upper end to the upper end of the post II and is connected at its lower end to a guy-line anchor, generally indicated at E4, inserted into the ground adjacent the ground-engaging support It.

As many guy-wires i3 as may be necessary or desired, may be attached to the post and the corresponding guy-wire anchors l4 arranged around the support It to hold the upper end of the post ll against forces applied to it in different directions.

A support, generally indicated at it), which may be similar in all respects to the support ID, is shown supporting a lawn umbrella it. The umbrella is supported without guy-lines and without any supporting table extending above the ground and surrounding the umbrella rod 15 thereby providing a greater free area beneath the umbrella so that the shade provided by it may be used to greater advantage. The supports 80 or iii may be used to support other objects such as fiagpoles, the legs of portable grilles, and various other devices.

In order to simplify the description and the claim, the word post is hereinafter used to include all articles and objects which may be conveniently supported either by the improved ground-engaging support alone or by the support in combination with the guy-line anchor, such objects and articles including line or net posts, tent poles, flagpoles, beach and lawn umbrellas, chairs, portable grilles, etc.

The improved ground-engaging support, as parcularly illustrated in Figure 2, comprises an elongated cylindrical or tubular socket H and three tines l8. Each tine has a substantially right-angular bend therein providing an arm portion I9 secured at its end to one end portion of the socket ii and a ground-engaging portion 20 extending from the arm opposite the socket ii. The three tines are arranged at substantially equal angular intervals around the end-portion of the socket and the ground-engaging portions 20 are substantially parallel to and laterally displaced from the extended longitudinal center-line of the socket. Each tine is pointed at its outer end, as indicated at 2|, to facilitate the insertion of the tines into the ground and small plates l9 are preferably secured to the tine arms iii to rest upon the ground and provide a bearing area for the support on the surface of the ground. In inserting the tines M3 to place the support in operative position, foot pressure may be applied to the arms is to force the tines into the ground and the support may be removed from the ground by grasping and raising the socket l! which may be provided with a roughened or covered outer-surface if desired. A thumb screw 22 is threaded through an internally-screw-threaded aperture in the side of the socket l! to engage the end-portion of a post inserted in the socket and rigidly connects the post to the support.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 3 a pin 23 is substituted for the thumb screw 22 and is insertable through aligned openings in the socket I1 and post H.

In the modification shown in Figure 4 a triangular plate 24 is secured to one end of the socket ll substantially at right angles to the socket. Straight tines 25 are secured each at one end to a respective corner of the plate 24 and extend from the side of the plate opposite the socket l1 substantially parallel to the longitudinal center-line of the socket and laterally spaced therefrom. The plate 24 is substantially in the form of an isosceles triangle so that the tines 25 are disposed around the socket at substantially equal angular intervals and are substantially equally spaced from the socket centerline. In this form of the device the plate 24 takes the place of the tine arms 19 of the form of the device shown in Figure 2, but otherwise the construction and operation of the device is substantially the same as that described above.

In the modification shown in Figure the plate 26 equivalent to the plate 24 is shown as rectangular instead of triangular and there are four tines 21 secured to the four corners of the plate and projecting therefrom opposite the socket H. The illustrations of Figures 4 and 5 are not necessarily separate modifications, but are shown merely to indicate that the tine-supporting plate may take any desired shape and that the number of tines may be varied within reasonable limits as may be desired.

The guy-line anchor 14, particularly illustrated in Figure 6, comprises a U-shaped member which provides a pair of substantially parallel tines 28 connected together at corresponding ends by a transverse base 29. A line-attaching eye 39 extends from the base 29 substantially midway between the tines and from the side of the base opposite the tines. This eye is preferably a split or divided loop of spring wire having a rounded end 3! under which an end of a guyline may be passed to resiliently secure the line end to the eye.

The guy-line anchor is inserted into the ground at an angle, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 1,

at which it leans away from the post to which the guy-line is attached and may be inserted by applying foot pressure to the transverse base 29 if necessary.

The above-described support is rigid in construction, of lightweight and easily transportable, and can be quickly and easily inserted in the ground at a desired location. The tines of the support are of sufficient length to provide (all a rigid support or base for a post supported thereby and the insertion and removal of the tines does not injure a lawn and no permanent receptacle is necessary in order to support even such devices as tents, flagpoles, tennis nets and clotheslines.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What I claim is:

A ground engaging support comprising a hollow cylindrical socket for receiving the bottom end of a post, and three tines secured to said socket at one end thereof, each of said tines comprising an elongated member having a substantially right angle bend therein to provide an arm portion and a ground engaging portion disposed at respectively opposite sides of such bend, said arm portions being permanently secured at their ends to said socket at said one end of the latter in position such that said arm portions project radially outwardly from said socket at substantially equal angular intervals therearound and substantially in a common plane disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of said socket and said ground engaging portions are substantially parallel to the center line of said socket extended from said one end of the latter, and said ground engaging portions have a length sufiicient to provide a rigid support for a post mounted in said socket and have pointed ends to facilitate their insertion into the ground, and a flat plate secured to the arm portion of each tine in position such that such plates collectively provide a ground engaging bearing surface adjacent the common plane of the arm portions of said tines.

JOSEPH R. TRICARICO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,085,084 Haines Jan. 29, 1914 1,298,380 Owen Mar. 25, 1919 1,425,067 Stone Aug. 8, 1922 1,748,885 Lally Feb. 25, 1930 1,999,925 Bushardt Apr. 30, 1935 2,039,779 Cote May 5, 1936 2,209,504 Beiter July 30, 1940 2,295,217 Maloney Sept. 15, 1942 2,349,505 Lohne May 23, 1944 

